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Chris Eakin/Fairview Post
The fuselage of the Canso looms like some prehistoric dinosaur in Brian Wilson’s shop a few miles southwest of Fairview where the Annual General Meeting of the Fairview Aircraft Restoration Society took place Nov. 8. Pius Doll and Don Wieben stand near the aircraft.

The Fairview Aircraft Restorations Society (FARS) has some ambitious plans for the Canso aircraft it rescued from the Northwest Territories in 2008 and is making progress on the restoration project.

The Canso (Canadian Vickers PBY) is an amphibious aircraft was built in 1943 and used during World War II for submarine patrol as well as rescuing downed flyers from the ocean. After the war it ended up doing waterbomber duty. During a practice run on Sitidgi Lake, NWT it was damaged and sank, although the crew made it off without injury in 2001. The owner, Buffalo Air, pulled the aircraft out of the lake, removed the engines and valuable instruments but left the hull sitting at the side of the lake rather than try and haul it out of the bush.

In 2008, a group of Fairview farmers including Don Wieben, Henry Dechant, Joe Gans, Doug Roy, Norbert Lueken and Brian Wilson took on the task of dragging the plane out of the bush and back to Fairview for restoration. The rescue, although successful (with a lot of help from strangers along the way), was only the first phase. The second phase, the restoration is still underway.

“We made reasonable progress over the summer even though it always seems slower than might be desired,” said Wieben. He joked that he has a mandate to keep the project a hobby and to stay married, which limits the time he and other members can spend on it.

Over the summer, they hired aircraft maintenance engineering student Patrick Kirk from SAIT who did a lot of work. They also had some visits from Rollie Hammerstedt, an aircraft engineer with decades of experience on the Canso who gave them the benefit of his experience. Wieben said Kirk “was a self-starter and got a lot done.”

A lot of the work they accomplished involved checking valves and tubing for leaks and repairing split pieces of tubing. As a result, they now have an airspeed indicator that works and the aircraft’s hydraulic system is mostly ready to go. One small exception is that the nose-wheel hydraulic system has a sticking valve – they just have to figure out which valve of the five or six involved is the stubborn one and remedy the problem.

The main landing gear now cycles up-and-down no problem and the braking system has been redone.

The split pieces of tubing that have been repaired were in the airspeed indicator system and split as a result of water getting into them. Considering the aircraft sank in a lake and then spent years on the tundra waiting to be rescued, the problem was not surprising.

The control surfaces for the aircraft have been re-covered in fabric, with only a few things left to do – finishing access holes will be the last step.

Hammerstedt took them through the balancing process for those parts of the plane. All of the control surfaces are hinged and need to have as little weight behind the hinge as possible or flutter may result, causing control problems – so balance is very important.

The main wing is still separated from the fuselage of the aircraft but they hope to remedy that this coming summer. They also hope to acquire a pair of engines for the plane sometime soon. They have located a pair, but are “in negotiations.”

Once the wing is on, they will have to find another place to store the plan. Currently, it is in Brian Wilson’s shop, sharing space with a pair of tractors, but once the wing is on it will need a larger space. FARS will be talking to the M.D. of Fairview and applying for a lease at the airport on a piece of property large enough to build a hangar. Wieben suggested they aim for a hangar 120’X80’ with a 20’X40’ shed attached for offices and/or workshops.

Another visitor they had was David Dorosh of Edmonton, an aircraft engineer who has extensive experience with Cansos. He spent two days with the Canso group and was reportedly very impressed with the work they have accomplished.

The group has been successful in getting charitable status from the government – it cost them in legal fees but they will now be able to issue tax receipts for donations.

Norbert Lueken suggested the group apply for a casino as part of their fundraising and his motion was approved.

They will also be applying for another student for the coming summer and Lueken will look into whether there are other programs they can investigate for assistance.

While FARS is the group that is repairing and will be operating the aircraft once it can fly, the Canso is actually owned by Save the Canso Ltd., a group made up of the six original members who rescued the Canso from the Northwest Territories.

Both groups will likely expand in the future as Doug Roy explained FARS will need more volunteers to operated and maintain the aircraft and possibly other aircraft they may acquire in the future.

As far as Save the Canso Ltd., goes, the plan is to eventually sell shares in the company.

Henry Dechant said he has found that many people involved with aircraft are aware of the Canso project – although they may not have all the details, they know at least of the groups existence and what they are doing.

The group will be organizing a fly-in breakfast for Father’s Day (Sunday, June 16). They hope to also attract some visitors from the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) Annual Fly-in and AGM, which will take place in Dawson Creek June 21-23. The COPA Fly-in attracts people from all across Canada.